Teach Soap

Hi all. I'm new to soap making and would love some help as I start my journey! I found this recipe and would like to know what you think of it. I really want a good, basic recipe to use regularly. So....do you think this recipe will be ok (hard, nourishing, bubbles, etc.)

4 Pound batch

26oz Olive Oil
18oz Coconut Oil
16oz Palm Oil
2oz Shea Butter
2oz Castor Oil
23oz Water
9.15oz Lye

My next question is about EO. Do you have to figure the amount of EO you use into the basic recipe to determine amounts of water, lye, etc.? Or are EO just additives that can vary per batch?

Thank you!!

The EO is calculated based on the full recipe. Do not calculate it into your recipe. So for a 4 pound batch you would need 2 oz of EO. That is based on .5 oz per pound of oils. You can add either more or less depending on what EO you are using and how strong you want it but be careful. Some EO's can be irritating.

I ran your recipe through SoapCalc (www.soapcalc.com) and it looks like your coconut and your palm could be a little high. I would up your olive, then up your shea and castor. Coconut can be a little harsh. I generally don't use more than 22.5% in my recipes. Also, if this is the first time you are using shea butter, make sure you melt it to about 170 degrees and hold it there for about 15-20 minutes to keep it from getting grainy.

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Haven

That's essentially my same basic recipe, except my percentages of oils/fats differ. I would cut that down to a one or two pound batch to start with. Keep your coconut oil around 20%. It can be drying in large amounts. Shea and castor at 5% each are good. It makes a very hard, wonderfully lathering bar of soap. You can adjust your percentages here: http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... apcalc.php
and then resize it for lbs.

Also I never melt my shea butter at high temps for any prolonged time. I don't know why some vendors recommend that. Others say that doing it actually causes graininess, shortens the shelf life and kills some of the beneficial properties. I dunno. All I know is I've never had a problem with grainy shea in soap or body butters and I don't heat mine at high temps for 15-20 minutes when I first get it. In fact my oils and fats rarely get above 110, except when they're gelling.

Best of luck!

Thank you for your input

I recaluculated to a 2# batch, moving things around a little. Here's what I came up with:


Castor 1 ounces 3.13 %
Coconut, 76 Degree 7 ounces 21.88 %
Olive, Grade A 16 ounces 50 %
Palm 7 ounces 21.88 %
Shea Butter, Unrefined 1 ounces 3.13 %

TOTALS 32 ounces 100 %

Does that look better? Do you think I should up the shea and castor while bringing down the coconut and palm? I certainly don't want a drying soap. Gosh....there is so much to learn and a lot of soap lingo I'm learning so starting small is a good idea. Thank you!

That certainly looks better, if you ask me. That is also my basic recipe. Here are my calculations that I use. I have not had any problems yet.

Olive Oil 50%
Coconut (76) 20%
Palm 20%
Castor 5%
Shea 5%


When I don't use Shea (cause my husband doesn't like it) I just add the 5% dispersed between the coconut and the palm so they are 22.5% each. Good luck to you and let us know how it goes!

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Haven

Ok I've got it at....

50% Olive
20% Palm
20% Coconut
5% Shea
5% Castor

I may play around with it a bit more, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Thank you all for being so helpful. Now I just need to buy all my stuff and make some soap!

5% castor might make your soap a little soft. I would go with 3% instead.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Could I absorb the extra 2 % into any of the other oil amounts? Olive maybe?

Thanks Soapbuddy.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Maybe I need to try that too!

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Haven

For those of you who use a calculator that breaks down the soap properties (i.e.soapcalc), how much attention do you pay to those numbers? I feel like I'm obsessive over them. For example, my "cleansing" properties are at a 18. Is that ok? It seems low. To have a good balanced soap are there numbers I shouldn't fall below or go above?

I ordered a bunch of stuff from BB and am getting the rest at a local soap supply store in my area. I'm hoping to get to soaping next week. Woo hoo!